Dispensing attachment for packages



Nov. 30, 1943. R, w. MERRlTl DISPENSING ATTACHMENT FOR PACKAGES Filed Dec 4, 1939 ,IIIIIIImII'I' Patented Nov. 30, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING ATTACHMENT FOR PACKAGES Robert I. Merritt, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application December 4, 1939, Serial No. $97,343

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a dispensing and measuring attachment for commodities, and while the invention may be used in many situations, it is intended to beparticularly useful as an attachment for household commodities in packages or tins, and for hotels, restaurants, bakeries, etc.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple construction that can be built in, or associated with, a wall of the container, and constructed in such a way that when the receptacle to be filled, is applied to the wall or" the receptacle, it can move the closure of the outlet opening so as to enable the receptacle to be brought into register with the outlet.

A further object of the invention is to construct the attachment in such a way that when the closure and receptacie have been brought into alignment with the outlet opening, the receptacle will hold itself in position, thereby preventing accidental removal of the receptacle, and the accidental spilling of any of the contents of the container.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

a movable closure is provided, mounted on a wall of the container, and this movable closure has a port therethrough that may align with the outlet opening in the container wall. At this opening the lip of the receptacle to be filled is applied through an aligning slot or opening in the outer face of the container Wall. ()ne of the objects of the invention is to provide simple means for locking the slide against accidental movement; also to accomplish this, and at the same time provide a continuous or fair face at the outer side of the container wall. While this attachment can be readily applied to the cover wall of a container, in thepresent specification it is described as applied the bottom wall, thereby avoiding the necessity for inverting the container when a receptacle is to be filled from it.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient dispensing attachment for package.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation in partial section through the bottom wall of a container, to which e (Cl. 2211ii4) my invention has been applied, and representing a closure in its closed position, and also illustrating the locking means that I prefer to employ for preventing the closure from moving accidentally to an .open position during shipment.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. l, but this View shows the parts entirely in section. However, it shows the closure in its closed position as in Fig. 1, and with the closure lock removed.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the closure moved into its open position.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, but showing the neck of the receptacle in place as when it is being filled. The lower portion of the receptacle is broken away.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of the container bottom, and showing a portion of the closure ready to receive the lip of the receptacle. The

' left end of the bottom wall of the container is broken away.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of a container illustrating an embodiment of the invention which is particularly adapted for constructing the closure and associated parts out of metal, or a combination of metal and other softer Inaterial.

Fig. '7 is a vertical section taken on the line 1'! of Fig. 6, and further illustrating details of this embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, upon a larger scale.

In practicing the invention, I provide a wall of the container I, preferably the bottom wall 2, with an outlet opening 3 (see Fig. 2), and this opening in the present instance is of smaller area than the wall of the container through which it is formed, and is normally held closed by a closure 4. This closure may be mounted at the bottom wall 2 in any suitable manner, but is preferably constructed as a slide to slide longitudinally substantially in the plane of the Wall, and in a direction from one side wall 2b toward the other side wall 2a, to open the outlet.

Preferably this slide 5 is operated by means of the lip or upper end of the receptacle into which the commodity such as a granular or fiaky ma terial will descend through the outlet opening 3. For this purpose the bottom of the container is preferably provided with an inner bottom or false bottom 5, and with a bottom liner 6 below the slide 4. Through the bottom wall 2 of the container and the two layers of material 5 and 5, the outlet opening 3 is formed. The slide 4 is provided with a port or round opening 'i which is normally out of register with the opening 3, but which can register with the opening to permit some of the contents of the container to descend into a receptacle held at the port 1. If desired, the mouth of the receptacle can be inserted directly in the Opening 1 in order to enable the receptacle to move the slide over into its open position, but I prefer to provide a counterbore 8 .at the port 1 to form a seat or annular shoulder 9 against which the upper edge of the receptacle l can be received.

In order to permit the neck of the receptacle ID to be passed up in this way into the socket or counterbore 9, the liner 6 and the real bottom wall ll of the container are provided with a slot 12 (see Fig. This slot has an enlarged portion l3 of substantially the same diameter as the counterbore 8, and also has a narrower extension I4 that leads over toward the opening 3, the outline of which is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5. Furthermore, I provide an interlock between the slide and the receptacle bottom. For this purpose the side edges of the straight extension M are preferably undercut as indicated by the dotted lines E5 in Fig. 5, to provide a retaining shoulder It for engaging and retaining the projecting lip l! on the receptacle it, that is to say, as soon as the receptacle is slid from the location of the opening l3, laterally into the straight portion of the slot, these lips I! will engage the shoulder l6 and prevent accidental removal of the receptacle. This is of some importance because if the attachment were carelessly operated, as for example, by a child, the accidental removal of the receptacle while the slide is in its open position, might accidentally spill all or a portion of the contents of the container.

In practice, if desired, the attachment can be.

ment is substantially air-tight so that it is admirably adapted for use as an attachment for containers of ground coffee, or any other material from which the air should be excluded.

In order to prevent any possibility of the closure 4 becoming accidentally opened during shipping or handling of the containers, I prefer to provide simple means for locking theclosure in its closed position. In the present instance this is accomplished by providing a plug or filler to be received in the slot l2 that is formed in the bottom wall H and liner 6. This plug therefore has the outline indicated at I2 in Fig. 5. This plug 19 is illustrated in Fig. 1 in longitudinal section. It has a shank 26 to fit into the straight portion of the slot 82, and an enlarged head at the other end to fit into the substantially circular opening formed at l3. It is also provided with a circular button 2i on its inner side that fits into the socket or counterbore 8 of the slide. In this way the slide can be locked securely in position; and in order to prevent the plug I9 from coming out of place, the whole package or the end of the package carrying the plug may be provided with a.

slide plate 25.

edge of the plug, and the cover sheet can be cut through along the edge of the plug when the package is to be put into use.

The parts of this attachment can be very conveniently constructed out of cardboard or similar material. If it is desired to employ metal in the construction of the attachment, this can be accomplished by constructing the parts substantially as illustrated in Figs. 6, '7 and 8. In this embodiment of the invention, the container 2 is provided with a false bottom 23 below which I provide a plate 24, and the false bottom and the plate have aligning outlet openings 25. The Sud".

ing closure is in the form of a metal plate 2'5 with a downwardly projecting flange 27 at each end, said flanges having points 28 that are crimped over the cardboard body 29. This slide body and the plate .25 have aligning openings 39 through the same, and the body 29 has a socket 3| at the openings 313 to receive the lip of a receptacle inserted by an upward movement through a slot 32 formed in the real bottom 33 of the container. The plate 2 3 is provided with inwardly projecting nibs 35 that engage the side edges of the slide plate 25 (see Fig. 6). This enables the plate 24 to act as a guide for the The body 29 of the slide i of reduced width so that its side edges 35 will clear the ends of the nibs 3 3 as the slide is moved to and fro.

The metal plate 24 may be formed near one end into a projecting stop 35, if it is not desired to have the adjacent end of the slide come against the side wall 22a of the container. Of course, if desired, a locking plug similar to the plug 29 may be employed in this type of attachment, as well as in the type illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5.

In either embodiment of the invention the attachment should be secured in some way in the bottom of the container, either by glue or any other desired fastening means.

This attachment will cooperate very efiectively with a measuring device, even if it is used to fill the measuring device only partially full; because the closure can be very quickly operated to shut oil the flow of the commodity when the level in the measuring device reaches a certain mark.

In dispensing a commodity from a container providedwith my attachment, if it is not desired to use a measuring receptacle, but to supply a commodity into an open plate or saucer, this can be accomplished by employing a dispensing device in the form of a tubular receptacle having a mouth and lip at its upper end such as illustrated in Fig. 4, but no bottom. By this means the substance in the container can flow continuously until shut off by moving the closure to its closed position.

In manufacturing the attachment, wax or oil may be used in its construction to enable the closure to be moved with little resistance or friction. Such a wax or oil can also be used where it is necessary to make the attachment substantially air-tight.

Many other embodiments of this invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container bottom wall having an outlet opening therethrough, a movable closure guided to slide substantially in the plane of the said wall and having a port therethrough of less area than the wall, that may register with the outlet opening, said movable member having a shouldered socket for receiving the end of a receptacle inserted from below, said wall having a slot on the outer side thereof enabling the mouth of the receptacle to be applied to the movable member from below, while the port is out of register with the opening, and moved into register with the outlet, and means associated with said wall for engaging, projecting under, and supporting, the lip of the receptacle when the movable closure has been moved into its open position.

2. In a dispensing attachment for a commoditycontainer, the combination of a container wall having an outlet opening therethrough, a slide guided on the said wall for closing the said opening and having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when dispensing the commodity, said slide having a seat on its under side for the upper end of a dispensing device, and said wall having a slot therethrough on its outer side through which the mouth and lip of the dispensing device can be introduced to engage the silde at said port, and enabling the slide to be moved so as to bring the opening of the slide into alignment with the outlet opening.

3. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container wall having an outlet opening therethrough, a slide guided on the said wall for closing the said opening and having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when dispensing the commodity, said wall having a slot therethrough on its outer side through which the mouth and lip of a receptacle can be introduced to engage the slide at said port, and enabling the slide to be moved so as to bring the opening of the receptacle in alignment with the outlet opening, said wall having means at the edge of said slot for engaging the lip of the receptacle to retain the same while the port and the receptacle are in register with the outlet opening.

4. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container wall unobstructed on its outer side, having an outlet opening therethrough, a slide guided on the said wall for closing the said opening and having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when dispensing the commodity, said port counterbored from below so as to form an annular seat accessible from below, said wall having a slot therethrough on its outer side through which the mouth and lip of a receptacle can be introduced to engage the counterbored port from below, and enabling the slide to be moved so as to bring the opening of the receptacle in alignment with the outlet opening, and means interlocking with the slide for locking the same against accidental opening.

5. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container wall having an outlet opening therethrough, a slide guided on the said wall for closing the said opening and having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when dispensing the commodity, said wall having a slot therethrough on its outer side through which the mouth and lip of a dispensing device can be introduced to engage the slide at said port, and enabling the slide to be moved so as to bring the opening of the slide into alignment with the outlet opening, said slot having an enlarged end in alignment with the port when the slide is in its open position, and having a substantially straight extension with edges projecting under the lip of the dispensing device to retain the same.

6. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container wall having an outlet opening therethrough, a slide guided on the said wall for closing the said opening and having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when dispensing the commodity, said port having an annular shoulder facing downwardly forming a seat for the lip of a dispensing device, said wall having a slot therethrough on its outer side through which the mouth and lip of the dispensing device can be introduced from below to engage the slide at said port, and enabling the slide to be moved by the dispensing device as a handle so as to bring the opening of the slide into alignment with the outlet opening, said slot having an enlarged end in alignment with the port When the slide is in its open position, and having a substantially straight extension with undercut edges to engage and retain the lip of the dispensing device.

7. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container having an unobstructed bottom wall with an outlet opening through which the commodity may be dispensed, a movable closure for the opening having a port therethrough that may register with the opening when freely movable dispensing the commodity, a dispensing device having a laterally projecting lip at its upper end, said closure having a counterbored seat to receive the upper end of the dispensing device inserted from below, for enabling the dispensing device to be used as a handle to move the closure into the dispensing position, said container having means for engaging under the said lip when the dispensing device is moved toward the dispensing position, operating to support the dispensing device temporarily while the same is filling.

8. In a dispensing attachment for a commodity container, the combination of a container wall having an outlet opening passing through the wall in a direction transverse to the plane of the wall, a movable closure mounted at the said wall to move substantially in the plane of the wall and having a counterbored port therethrough that may register with the outlet opening, said counterbored port having a seating shoulder on its under side facing downwardly to receive the upper end of the receptacle for the commodity to be dispensed, and enabling the mouth of the receptacle to be applied to the closure from below while the port is out of register with the opening.

ROBERT W. MERRIT'I. 

